Thursday, July 16, 2009

Lately, I guess I have been having a bit of an Alice fetish. I've been reading The Looking Glass Wars and it's an amazing book! I decided that I need to go to the library more often. Mostly because my English is going slowly down hill, I've been writing/speaking too much Japanese, recently. If there is such a thing. Anyways, I'm going to be Alice for Halloween. This is probably the first time I've planned out what I'm going to be, before October.

I can't wait until the Fall semester starts! Summer's been pretty boring, to be honest. I would've been camping for 5 days. But then my dad decided he didn't like crowds, so we had to leave the next day. After spending a bunch of money on camping stuff, there wasn't much left to do fun stuff with.

I saw the newest Harry Potter movie! It was the best one ever, so far! I need to re-read the series. I haven't even read the last book yet. Oh well. I rather read 'Little Cricket'. It's a pretty good book, too. It takes place in Vietnam in the '70s. It's not too harsh, though.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Lately, I've been 'not so lucky'. I've broken my toenail, slammed my finger in a car door, cut my ankle shaving and have a random cut on the palm of my hand. Most people would call that 'unlucky' but lately, I feal as if I am the luckiest person in the world!

Latley, it seems like I have a lot of new friends, and have gotten over all of the bad things in my mind (like keeping grudges). But at the same time I am also so, so sad.

My best friend in the world (I've known her since I was probably 2 or 3) is in Texas and I have not went to see her, even once. All of these years. There's not much I can do about that at the moment, though.

I still haven't replied to a letter that Rakko (My friend's nickname) sent me (It only took 4 days to ship from Texas to California! New record!). I feal really bad. I want to get some stationary to wright on. Or I could always make some with some sharpies...

My wallet has the most money in it for over 3 months (currently $5). You wouldn't believe how many birthdays can fin into a few months! So, I have been sewing, crocheting, and drawing like crazy!

I love getting to know people! It's nice being able to be there for a friend when they're down, crazy, or just wanting to go somewhere and have fun! Getting to know people is like piecing a puzzle together, then you step back and say "Woah!" and look at all the fun times you had. I don't like to let fun times go, so I seem to space-out a lot. Just thinking about last summer when we all went to the beach, or last semester when everyone was talking before and after class. I also like to think stuff like "What would my friends do right now, if they were here?".

I need to start planning stuff to get all of my new friends together, for one crazy epic party! I would invite all of my park day friends, my Japanese Class friends, my Otaku friends, and my old friends (the ones that are still in California, or that can make it).

I must admit, my 'priorities' are kind of off.

Friends & Family (that includes my pets, too)

Friends of friends

Chores/cleaning

Me

I think the way it was supposed to go is this, but I'm not sure.

Family

Friends

Me

Chores/cleaning

Friends of friends

Or maybe it was Family, Me, Friends... I don't know. To me, my friends are family. That's just my way of looking at things. Okay now I'm going to get all mushy and look like the first page in a book:

Thanks everyone for making me the luckiest person in the world! (I would make a list of all of the names but I'm afraid I might forget someone. I wouldn't want anyone to be left out!)

Monday, June 15, 2009

I have finished both Ichigo Mashimaro (Strawberry Marshmallow) and Ouran High School Host Club. I don't really like the ending of Ouran. I haven't read the manga of either but I intend to buy the Ichigo Mashimaro series of books. Mostly because there's only 4 (although there will be 5-7 soon, I think). I will probably get around to reading Ouran sometime. And I read Katekyo Hitman Reborn! (My Home-Tutor, Reborn!) All 200+ chapters, until I found out that it's still a continuing manga... Blah.

Right now half of my friends are still in Japan (They should be returning some time in the beginning of July). Although, I am pretty busy this month anyway! Who would've thought! There are so many birthdays this month! Hmm... I think there's 7 including my friends and family. So I've been pretty busy; Crocheting, Sewing, Braiding (Kumihimo). And on top of all of that I've finished Ouran and am re-reading Fruits Basket. I forgot almost all of it. ;-_-

Oh! And here's a sentence that you've probably never heard me say before: I studied, a lot (no, not "studying")! I found out that I really like studying! Amazing, right?

I'm sorry, the main reason I probably haven't been writing in my blog is because I've started a journal. The first week of it is in English but then I decided it would be better kanji practice if it was all in Japanese. This is one of my ways of "studying". Most of my other ways of "studying" are reading manga (for historical stuff, I found out about how to make mochi and what the Tanabata festival is), and watch anime (I found out about Kansai this way, too. Kansai is kind of like the southern way of speaking in Japan, like the difference of accents and slang from California to Kentucky or Texas.)... And then of course there's Wikipedia!

Next time everyone goes to Japan, I'm going to try and go, too! I still don't know what I want to do as an occupation but, maybe my real job (not just a part-time) will be subbing. It annoys me a lot when the people who sub things get the words wrong, like: Do you like cake? When actually it's What type of cake do you like. It may seem kind of picky but it would be odd if you answered yes. Is yes a filling? Hmm...

I wish they had cuter font for blogger, my favorite is Comic Sans MS. It's so cute!

The only down side to writing Japanese everyday is that I forget how to write some letters (English) and my spelling has gotten worse. But if I didn't use Japanese everyday I would've probably gotten a lot more D's. I think I only had 2 or 3 this year. I can't believe that a D is a passing grade in most high schools! That's crazy! I thought C's were the lowest passing grade.

Anyways, I have a lot of time now since I quit gymnastics (February) and my Japanese classes have ended (April). I should go to the beach or something. I had a whole itinerary list set up and everything...

Go Karaokeing with friends.

Go to Little Tokyo again with friends.

Go to the beach with friends.

Go to the OC Fair with friends.

Go shopping with my girlfriends...

-_- There's still a billion of movies I need to watch, too. And Manga to read. And Anime to watch... AND MORE BIRTHDAYS! That's the only difficult thing about having a bunch of friends. I always am worrying that I'll forget someone's birthday. That is, IF THEY TELL ME THEIR BIRTHDAY! Gosh, I'm friends with a bunch of people but, I still don't know half of their birthdays! I'm such a bad friend. ;-_-

Saturday, April 4, 2009

We (Neil, Sun and I) meet at the fire-look-out place in Little Tokyo at 10. Then we go to the opening ceremony where there was some awesome Taiko drumming going on! It was beautiful!

Next, Ishii-sensee gets her "Teachers Make A Difference Award"! YAY, SENSEE! She is the best "official" teacher I've ever had (Although I've only had probably 3 teachers in my life, so far... :3. My mom, Ishii-sensee, a sign language teacher from SCC (he was the ABSOLUTE WORST TEACHER, EVER!) and Shimura-sensee (from Japanese Culture class, she was okay but she gave out wayyy too much homework!).

Ishii-sensee is in the middle with the short hair, next to the guy with white hair.

This is Sun, posing with Hello Kitty, who distracted us from the awards ceremony. Oh, well. It was basically over anyways!

Hmm... Who won? Those game pieces in and on top of the plastic lids are the ones that the players have captured. See that big pile of white? That's all of Neil's captives. See the little black group? That's what Neil has captured from San. :D Not even close, Sun wins by a landslide!

Even in the big city, there's some beautiful man-made sites. I never thought I would have "beautiful" and "man-made" in the same sentence, ever.

People whiz by not even knowing that that beautiful sky line is there.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Lately my wisdom teeth decided that they're going to come in. I don't like the idea since I just lost my last baby teeth less than a year ago! But, I guess that's what I get for thinking too hard, too often. My teeth decide they're going to get wise, too.

Recently in my life, things seem pretty normal (which is quite odd, for my life to be normal). Usually there's always some weird sort of drama going on. Besides a few of my friends occasionally getting in a rut, life's pretty exciting. I want to get to know a few of my class-mates better that way when I'm done with Japanese, I can still see them often. I miss hanging out every week with my old friends but, It gives me some time to think. I've had a lot of time to ponder about life. I've came up with a theory that you do whatever is justice or right and things will work out well. So far it seems to be working out well for me. I'm pretty lucky, in general. It's weird, sometimes I really don't want to do something but then a second later I end up doing it anyway. Such as dishes, or picking something up off of the ground. I think I might have auto-programed my body to Tohru Honda specifications. I don't mind doing almoast anything, now. Doing some one else's homework, dishes, or even being on bathroom duty. I guess that's just a part of growing up. You start to enjoy hard work and it's benifits.

I decited to start a daily journal that I will write in every night before I go to bed. That way I can clear my head of things and I can sleep better. So far it seems to be working... In class I've been assigned one of the most difficult jobs imaginable. I have to draw very large pictures and well! I can't draw big! It's just so difficult to get the designs in ! Because the shape of everything changes. And it's harder to draw straight lines and perfectly round circles! But drawing big eyes is easy, I guess..

I wonder if there will be a karaoke contest at the Cherry Blossom Festival this Saturday? If so I can finally show off my singing skills, in a non-pressure way. But then again a few of my friends from class will be there and so with friends-of-friends... I wonder what I'd sing, anyway? Maybe "Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi" by KOKIA or "Doll" by Lia & Aoi Tada. Or something more easy-going like "Futari ha wasurechau" by Tsukamoto Shimai, Koshimizu Ami, and Nomo Mamiko. I want people to know how I sing, I'm just too shy to stand on a desk and start yelling the lyrics. Maybe if more people hear me sing, they'll respect me as a colleague instead of a little kid.

13. What’s one trait that you hate about yourself? I don't hate myself.

14. The last disease you contracted? The "24" hour flu. Try more like the "144" hour flu (6 days!!!).

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment 'What should I write about next?', 'When is the next episode of Mamotte! Lollipop going to be subbed?', 'I miss Fullmetal Alchemist...'

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?- Water, green tea, lemon aid.

17. Current worry right now? When is Neal going to email me about our skit for class?

18. Current hate right now? The never-ending job as dish washer.

19. Favorite place to be? In a Japanese garden, the beach, in a library full of all the manga an anime in the world! (There actually is going to be one of those in Japan, It's supposed to be built next year, I think)

20. How did you ring in the New Year? I went to a friend's house and was really loud yelling "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!".

21. Like to travel? Yeah, I want to go to Japan NOW!!! (And to Texas to see a friend)

22. Name three people who will complete this: I dunno' whoever feels like doing a quiz.

23. Do you own slippers? Nope, unless socks with little suction cups on the bottom count!

24. What color shirt are you wearing? A maroon American Pride shirt from last summers adventure. It makes a comfy PJ shirt!

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? I don't know, I don't think I ever have.

26. Can you whistle? Yup, inwards and outwards. I can do a special whistle that sounds like a bird by changing the direction that I'm whistling really fast.

27. Favorite singer/band? There are wayyyy to many. Right now I'm really into J-Pop (not a band just a type of music). I don't get why people don't like it. It'll catch on one day!

28. Could you ever make it 39 days on the show Survivor? HECK YEAH! I would totally dominate that show! I just hope that I wouldn't catch any parasites! Eww *shivers*

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? Any song that's on my mind at the time.

33. Last thing that made you laugh? An episode of anime. FMA episode 20 when the phyco killer (Berry the chopper, aka #66) explains that he is a suit of armor (like Alphonse) and Al just says "Is that so?". hehehe

34. Like your job? If you mean watching anime, reading manga, learning Japanese and playing video games all day? Yeah, my job's pretty sweet!

43. Favorite Sports Team? I don't watch sports. I used to play soccer for the Tornadoes, when I was 9. My coach was really mean! :( I do like to play baseball, though. NOT SOFTBALL!!! Softball is sexist, and wayy to easy.

44. What were you doing 12 AM last night? Staying up late watching FMA with my brother.

45. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up today? 'I woke up late today... And why is my cat staring at me?' (she just wanted breakfast and decided to take it into her own hands to get me down stares as soon as possible.)

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Dad took my little brother and I to Snow Vally in Big Bear. I flew down the runs like hell broke loose and was chasing me, I must have gotten up to 15mph ( Nice pic. of the ski lift, self*pats self on back*.

I've seen this car around our house lately, I have no idea what the "Meat Party" van is. Mom says maybe it's a hooker bus. O_o maybeee?

This is me at the Japanese/Chinese Open House at my collage! Sensee, (behind me in the yellow Kimono) helped me figure out how to get the Kimono on! (It's pretty difficult!) But they're soooo comfortable! I can see why the Japanese ware them in the summer!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

This is another anime I've had my eye on ever since I first read the first book of manga, at my local library. I was automatically taken in by the storyline's simplicity and easy-to-readness ("Poppin' Heart ha Hitotsu Dake?" - Clover

Monday, March 2, 2009

Nausicaa Of The Vally Of The Wind (Naushika, is the original title and is also how you pronounce the name.). Yet another Miyazki movie under my belt. I have now seen: Howl's Moving Castle, Spirted Away, Castle in the Sky, Naushika, Kiki's Delivery Service. And maybe a few others, I can't remember right now.

Kaze no Tani no Naushika

'Kaze no Tani no Naushika'

Music by Haruomi HosonoLyrics by Takashi MatsumotoSung by Narumi Yasuda

Sunday, March 1, 2009

I just finished the series FMA and am now depressed (also to the fact that I had a frightening phone call earlier from a friend, I won't get into that though). Back to the main subject, FMA IS THE BEST ANIME I HAVE EVER WATCHED IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE OF THE WORLD!!!! I haven't seen the OVAs*, yet ... This has to be the best written anime ever,unlike most anime, the manga actually has way less episodes/chapters than the anime itself! And also, unlike most anime I've watched, I decided to watch the dubbed version (English voices). I just couldn't bear even hearing Edward because he sounded so much like Maller (Maaraa, a female deamon from Oh! My Goddess! Her name's Maaraa because there are no l's in Japanese). I wonder where I can find the OVAs? Hmm, They'll probably all be in Japanese anyways *sigh*. Oh well...

Did you know they're airing season 2 RIGHT NOW?!?!? It'll just take another couple years though before they're in English, and that, my friend is another reason I want to be fluent in Japanese (I'm on class 2/4 right now...). So I can speed up the raw form into fan-subs and then once they get popular enough they'll finally get dubbed (which is usually a bad thing, since shows like Fruits Basket cut out so much when they switch it over...). I only got 3 hours of sleep and at the rate I'm going I'm not going to get ANY tonight. Weeee, Zzzzz.... I can see why Rachel (Morocco) and Kaleb basically treat this anime like a god, because it kind of is. It makes you think really deep about things and the way the story line went was crazy! It sucked you in but then at the end it just kept getting darker and darker.... Okay, NOW I'm getting sleepy...

*OVA stands for Original Video Animation. Which usually never is translated into English, sorry dubb fans.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

This is my mom's bento (If you've ever read my blog you've probably already realized that this bento box looks familiar...). Today is twin bento day (a.k.a. I was too lazy to make to different bentos ☺). Recently I have mastered the art of making a perfect omelet in a cast iron skillet! It's more difficult then it sounds! Once one of my friends was trying to make an omelet at my house... It was more of a scrambled egg type of deal, it was still pretty good though (she later on tried to get me to buy a non-stick skillet)...Good times!

Both of these bentos have a salad which consists of: Garbanzo beans, Julienned (a horrible attempt at julienning, if I do say so myself) carrots, water chestnuts and lettuce. My mom's bento also has steamed broccoli.

I made my dad a Super Bowl themed bento. He's not really into that type of stuff but, I thought it would be appropriate. So I made the foot ball players out of hard boiled egg and nori (for the face-paint, helmet and numbers). The yard marks are green bell peppers and the football is a mushroom slice.

The right compartment is Orieo's and Tapioca pudding with some cinnamon. In the right container is potato and honey. OM NOM NOM!!!

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Why is it that Valentines Day either makes people happy or somewhat depressed? It's all that social pressure and commercials making you feal bad if you don't have a date on February the 14Th. GOSH! What a blubs! But, of course I fall for this huge corporate act. Now I feal bad I don't have a date for Valentine's. Mmm, FUN (not really)! It's probably better that way anyways, that way I can focus more on classes rather than trying to figure out what to get someone...

Friday, January 30, 2009

Before we get into the awesome subject of cute bentos... Here's my cute cat, enjoying a toilet paper tube... She kept looking through it like "I see you!!!". She was so cute!

Here's my dad's bento... It's actually not so cute, but It's kind of hard making it somewhat masculine AND bigger portions too. Anyways I got my egg molds today and they say use "Large" eggs so I got the carton that said "Large" but they were more like "Small" so they didn't turn out AT ALL! But the awesome thing about egg molds is that they can also be used for Onigiri (it a little more difficult for those who haven't made onigiri before, make sure you spritz the mold with water first when making onigiri). I also got some rice shapers to make rice look like dice (as seen on top left). The green things on the bed of rice (in the middle picture) are some Jalapenos my dad stuffed with potatoes and cheese that night. The stuff below the egg is Shoe String Potatoes. Which are AMAZING!

The last, and the cutest bento. The rice ball (top right) is made of... rice, duh. And the white stuff in the top section of the right bento is water chestnuts and below that is apples. Simple but healthy.

All bentos I make are made the day before, so I actually made these today Friday, the 30Th.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

I feal soooo happy!!! I finally know how to play stuff on the guitar!!! I don't even have to read the TAB's anymore!!!! In just two days, I've learned beginner songs like 'Whinnie the Pooh' and 'Indiana Jones'!!! I'm still working on 'Whipeout' by The Beach Boys... It's pretty difficult, the tempo is CRAZY! I also won $10 from a scratch lottery game. Oh! And my manga books finally arrived too! Now I can lend them to my friend. Hopefully she's still into the Miki Falls series... I now own books 1-3 I still need to get the last one (book 4). It's been awesome actually owning manga instead of borrowing them from the library. I cleverly decided to start with the Miki Falls series because it was such a small series, so I don't have to spend a bunch (I'm working on just allowance so, I have to start small.).

And then there was...

THE DENTIST!!!

I have a sort of dentist/tooth phobia (as my brother well knows, making sure to use every last one of his loose teeth as a way to penetrate my un-penetrable field of toughness...) I FLIP OUT, when I hear to oh-so-frightening noises of teeth wiggling..*shivers* NOT COOL! So no one better get any ideas, kay? I had no cavities (once again, for the 9Th year in a row). I've only had one when I was little. You're probably wondering "Why is she so afraid of the dentist when she's only been under the drill once?"... Almost EVERY time I've been to the dentist is so they can remove a compacted tooth, 2 semi-molars and 2 eye teeth removed WITH Novocaine and 4 semi-molars WITHOUT NOVOCAINE!!! That was the worst pain I've ever felt in my life, so I went straight from the dentist to Disney land to hang out with friends. I still had goz in my mouth though (that's how fast I went from death to cake (Death or cake is a comedy act my friends and I use a lot, meaning that things went from Death to well... better than death)! So just make sure to ALWAYS get Novocaine...

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I've had an eventful day so far... I had a HUGE pile of dishes to do (left over from birthday festivities). And of course Japanese homework (only 3 pages this time though, yay!)... And I will soon be off to my first guitar lesson. I have some scheduling to figure out! Good thing I don't have to make dad a bento today. I wish the lessons weren't so expensive though... grr.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

This is me in me official bento making gear (bandanna and apron, usually PJ's are included in my bento making ritual). ^-^

This is mom's Owl bento which consists of orange salad w/ sesame ginger dressing and Onigiri with edamame. The left onigiri kind of looks like an owl (I just started putting nori (seaweed) on it and it came out kind of looking like a sandal with eyes) and the ever-so-popular "XD".

In case anybody wanted to know how to wrap up a bento you place it in the middle of a bandanna and...

This is dad's B-day bento!!!! It's not actually that beautiful but it tastes good (I hope). On the left is sprouts and pickles with teriyaki sauce. The right is a bento-stable apple pie (boiled apples, later simmered in honey (which I keep spelling Hunny, thanks to my younger years of watching Whinnie the Pooh) on top of toast. And in the middle is breaded fish with Edamame beans (soy beans). YUM!

I just HAD to share my recipe for Pan Fried Tofu with Honey soy sauce! Okay I made this one night for my dad's bento and found out that it was really good and made some more for everyone in my house. Even my brother liked it (He WILL NOT eat tofu, he hates the stuff).

Pan Fried Tofu w/ Honey soy sauce:

1 container of extra firm tofu

1 cup Ralphs brand seasoned breadcrumbs (other kinds will work too, this is just the one I had on hand)

1 Large egg

2 Tbsp. Soy oil (or any type of veggie oil)

2 Tbsp. Honey

2 Tbsp. Low sodium soy sauce

Drain tofu of water and pat down with paper towel. Cut tofu into 16 1-inch strips.

Crack the egg and whisk with a fork place in bowl. Place bread crumbs on a plate.

Dredge the tofu through the egg, then dredge through bread crumbs.

Heat oil in small pan test temperature by dripping some water on the pan is some little bubbles come up then the temperature is correct.

Place about 5 tofu strips in pan and flip every 3 minutes, or until medium brown.

Mix honey and soy sauce in a small cup, microwave.

Take tofu off of the pan and blot with a paper towel. Drizzle Honey sauce on the tofu.

I made a clever (If I do say so myself) gift tag for my dad's birthday present. Which I'm pretty sure I can put up on my blog because my dad isn't very... computer savvy. Anyways I got him a Ramones shirt from Hot Topic using my awesome gift card my auntie Gail gave me for Solstice. I think he'll like it.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

This is ANOTHER one of dad's bentos. On the left is fruit salad, the right is leek rings (fried leeks) and in the middle is fried tofu tonkatsu style f(a type of fried pork usually used in curry rice) with some Chile Reano on top (I didn't have time to make curry).

This is dad's bento... notice there are no vegetables, dad forgot to take the vegetables the other day so... I just used those. Also, I made these bentos right after the New Years Party at sensee's house (which was pretty awesome!). So I was SO ready to go to bed after I was done making these bentos!!!

This is mom's bento which had a "hard" boiled egg? (I don't know what happened to it but it was more like soft boiled egg), carrots, collared greens, leek rings and rice with an umeboshi (pickled plum).